1. Even with flex scheduling, the NFL still offers some absolute clunkers in standalone windows late in the season.

Just look at ESPN giving us a disgusting Falcons-Raiders game on Monday Night Football earlier this week and poor Jim Nantz and Tony Romo getting stuck with a meaningless Niners-Dolphins game at 4:25 p.m. on Sunday. Things were so bad for the late window this upcoming weekend that the NFL actually flexed the 3–11 Patriots against the Bills into a 4:25 pm. start. I understand the NFL thinks people want to watch Josh Allen put on his weekly show, but the Bills are 14-point favorites in the game.

During the latest SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast, I discussed the late-season schedule with NBC’s Mike Tirico.

The voice of Sunday Night Football—who will benefit from a flex with the NFL pulling the Browns-Dolphins game in Week 17 and giving the network Falcons-Commanders instead—shared his idea for how to get the best games in standalone windows late in the season.

“I would love if the league could find a way to pivot, so from Thanksgiving on, the last five weeks of the season, was scheduled like the Premier League, where we know the matchups, but we have no designation and maybe Nov. 1 you start designating some of the windows,” explained Tirico.

“Thursday, you have to do all the way out, I understand that. But you start designating the Monday windows and the Sunday windows and as we get closer you do like we just saw this week for Week 17 where we say, ‘O.K., there’s a pool of games here, three of them will be on NFL Network on Saturday, one here and the other two will be slotted in somewhere.’

“I just think teams flip so quick from really good team to bad team or an injury changes a team. It would be best not just for the network partners, which is our concern, but it would be best for the fans because you get the best games in those standalone windows. We don’t mind and understand you’re gonna get some games at 1 or 4 o’clock that are not the best games, but in the 4:25 window, the Sunday night window, the Monday night window, if you get a dog, if you get a bad game, it’s not good for the momentum of the season.

“So I really wish that they could come about and do something to make that real.”

Tirico is 100% dead-on here. This is absolutely how the NFL should do the schedule for the last month of the season. The games will be set, but the networks and times will get announced around Thanksgiving.

Then we can avoid disasters like Falcons-Raiders.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

2. In Wednesday’s Traina Thoughts, I covered the war of words between Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and ESPN’s Ryan Clark.

Shortly after the column came out, Clark gave us another speech about Rodgers and this was way more vicious than the first one.

3. UNLV executed one of the best fake punts you’ll ever see during Wednesday’s Frisco Bowl against Cal.

A LOT of people responded to the play by saying there should’ve been an illegal-man-downfield penalty because the entire offensive line was downfield

But because the pass was thrown and completed behind the line of scrimmage, thus making it the equivalent to a screen pass, it is legal and the illegal-man-downfield penalty is not applicable.

4. in Tuesday’s Traina Thoughts we covered Adam Schefter’s brutal takedown of basketball coach/radio host, Doug Gottlieb. ESPN decided to kick Gottlieb while he was down and ran this on their bottom line Wednesday night.

5. Michael Penix Jr. has a $22.8 million contract with the Falcons, but even he can’t pass up the $1.50 price for a Costco hot dog.

6. Kyler Murray grew up in Texas and plays in Arizona, so it would make sense that he would think 35 degrees is very cold, but the reality is, 35 degrees is totally manageable. So this clip has totally convinced me to bet the Panthers +5 against the Cardinals on Sunday.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: I have no recollection of this old ESPN skit featuring cast members from The Sopranos and Tony Romo, so many thanks to Ray Stallone, who passed it along.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mike Tirico Would Like to See the NFL Make This Late-Season Schedule Change.